How to up your Twitter game for 2018

According to a survey conducted by Twitter itself, four out of every five people who follow small businesses on this social media platform said that they will retweet posts made by those businesses. Additionally, three out of four feel more positively toward the businesses after reading their Tweets, with 69 percent indicating that they have even made a purchase from a business after deciding to follow them.

This is great news if you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur because it means that being on Twitter can really help you engage with your audience and, as a result, grow your company. What are some things you can do in the upcoming year to make your Twitter campaign as successful as it can be? Here are some options to consider.

Don’t be shy about your Twitter presence

Michael Hyatt, social media expert and author of the bestseller Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, shares in his blog that one of the best ways to grow your number of Twitter followers is to simply bring more attention to the fact that you’re on this social media platform. Hyatt suggests that you do this by including links to it in your email signature and on your website, in addition to placing your username on your business card.

Automate your growth

Another way to up your Twitter game that doesn’t involve much effort on your part is to automate your growth. Online services like Narrow will interact directly with your target market, engaging them in topics they care about most, leading them back to your Twitter profile where they can easily follow you. This site even provides data that can help you enhance your growth even more, like information about your audience and various keyword analytics.

Create follow-worthy tweets

Once you draw Twitter users to your company profile, the next step is to get them to click on the follow button. One way to do this is to create follow-worthy Tweets. What is considered follow-worthy? Anything that resonates with your target audience. What do they care about? What types of things are they interested in knowing and doing? Keep these things in mind when creating your Tweets so you can reach them in a way that makes them not want to miss your future posts.

Follow those who follow you

In a Buffer post, Kevan Lee, their director of marketing, says that following the people who follow you can also help speed up your Twitter growth. And don’t worry about whether they’re in your target demographic or if they’re representative of your ideal audience as you can sort that out later if you want. At least in the beginning, just follow back anyone who decides to follow you first. Performing this one tiny return gesture may just transform that follower into one of your biggest advocates.

Time your posts carefully

Ideally, you want to time your Twitter posts for when your target audience is likely to be online. This will help keep your posts close to the top of their feed versus being so far down the line that they never make it to them. Because every market is different, deciding which times are best requires that you know your consumer and his or her habits. If you don’t, just ask them. Then make it a point to be online at the same time.

Upping your Twitter game for 2018 involves spreading the word that you’re on this social media site, creating engaging Tweets, following those who follow you, automating your growth, and timing your posts carefully. Do these five things and you’ll be well on your way to growing your followers, all year long.